The use of multi-contact connectors is a well-known method for providing an organized and orderly connection of multiple leads such as in electronic devices. Multi-contact connectors terminate conductors and cables between electronic circuits within a system, between systems, and between systems and external power sources and signal lines. Multi-contact connectors interconnect circuits on circuit boards with backplanes or backpanels or wiring within an enclosure. They may also interconnect chassis and circuit boards in different enclosures.
Such connectors come in a variety of shapes including trapezoidal, rectangular, and circular. These connectors typically include an electrically insulative connector housing containing multiple apertures through which conductive connector contacts are inserted. These connector contacts, a plurality of which are included in such connector assemblies, are connected to separate incoming wires and a dielectric insert assembly for fixedly or removably mounting the electrical contacts in the connector shell.
For example, right angle, D-faced electrical connectors are used in the electronics industry as input/output devices to interconnect a computer to external peripheral equipment. The contacts of the electrical connector are typically soldered to conductive traces on a printed circuit board at a backwall or panel of the computer. The front face on the connector is mated with a complementary electrical connector which is attached to the peripheral equipment.
These types of electrical contacts are supported in apertures in the insulative housing of the connector with back ends of the contacts bent at right angles. The contacts terminate in solder posts which extend downward from the connector housing for insertion into through-plated holes in a printed circuit board for subsequent soldering thereto.
Typically the contacts are held in place by an interference fit between the contact and the wall forming the aperture in the connector housing by either oversizing the contact to the aperture or by providing barbs on the contact which engage the internal wall defining the aperture.
However, by employing an interference fit between the contacts and the connector housing, several problems are commonly experienced. One such problem is that the insertion fit can cause warpage of the connector housing. Also, the insertion forces required to insert contact pins through the connector housing can sometimes bend, misalign, or skew either the pins or the solder tails. As mentioned above, because of the importance of properly aligning the solder tails to the appropriate terminal in the printed circuit board, such misalignment can render a connector unusable.
Furthermore, interference fit connectors require a precise fit between the hole and contact in order to eliminate some of the above-mentioned problems. This necessitated the use of tight tolerances which increased production costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,159 discloses an electric terminal for mounting electrical components on printed circuit boards. A mounting leg is employed to secure the connector to the printed circuit board. This mounting leg includes at least one elongate indentation in the mounting end parallel to the longitudinal axis which facilitates the splitting of the mounting leg along the indentation into two half leg portions and splaying the two half leg portions into abutment against the opposed side of the printed circuit board to secure the position of the terminal on the printed circuit board. However, it has been found that in some cases splaying does not follow the coin along the center of the leg, but favors one side and results in an asymmetrical one sided splay. Such off center splaying has a tendency to further pull the terminal pin off the original center line perpendicular to the printed circuit board surface.